Back in the fall when NC State’s football team was hobbling in the midst of a four-game losing streak, they found a much-needed bye week. The break turned out to be just what they needed. The Pack responded by winning three of the last four games of the regular season, including routs of UNC and Wake Forest at home, and earning a bowl berth that resulted in a win over Central Florida.

Basketball is facing a similar crossroads. The Pack has lost six of its last nine games, including costly road losses to Clemson and at Wake Forest that will not look good on the résumé at the end of the season and a blown chance at home versus Notre Dame.

It is time to refocus and regroup. There are still opportunities ahead, including versus nationally ranked foes Virginia, Louisville and UNC (the latter two on the road). It is imperative to get back on track, especially for fifth-year senior wing Ralston Turner. In the last two games, Turner is just 5 of 24 from the field, including 4 of 16 on three-pointers.

NC State’s offense is at its best when Turner is shooting well. Although the Pack has added another good shooter to its offense in redshirt junior guard Trevor Lacey, and sophomore guard Anthony Barber has seemingly rediscovered his jumper in recent games, it is Turner that NC State turns to when they must have a much-needed three-point shot.

Those Turner threes are often a key component of those needed momentum-turning moments during Wolfpack wins, just like that bye week was for the football team. Maybe this break can go hand in hand with Turner finding his shot again, lending itself to another strong finish for the Pack this year.

— Matt Carter

NC State seemed to be on course for making the NCAA Tournament but now the wheels feel like they’ve come off. That is life in the topsy-turvy ACC, where lowly Virginia Tech can throw a scare into No. 3 Virginia, and No. 9 Notre Dame can upset Duke and then fall at Pittsburgh in the inevitable letdown game that followed.

In NC State’s case, the Wolfpack was competitive with the aforementioned Cavaliers until the last six minutes in a 61-51 road loss on Jan. 7. NCSU played lights out in upsetting then No. 2 Duke at home 87-75 on Jan. 11. That was followed by a grind it out 81-79 home loss to No. 15 North Carolina Jan. 14, which literally came down to the last bitter split seconds. That difficult stretch gave the appearance that NC State had found its identity and was in good shape for future ACC battles.

Instead, the Wolfpack has gone 2-4 since then and has a home rematch with Virginia on Feb. 11, and then travels to No. 9 Louisville on Feb. 14.

NC State currently sits at 14-10 overall and 5-6 in the ACC. The goal is simple, the Wolfpack will need to upset at least one top-12 team — Virginia, Louisville or at North Carolina on Feb. 24 — in order to go 10-8 in the ACC regular season. Three of the games are rematches — Virginia, North Carolina and Clemson — with the Wolfpack aiming to avenge an earlier defeat.

Ten wins in the regular season and at least one victory in the ACC Tournament should put NC State squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble for the third time over the last four years. ESPN.com has NC State in its “work left to do” category in reaching the NCAA Tournament, but pointed out that having the No. 6 strength of schedule and No. 49 RPI will be helpful.

What will be needed to achieve that is something that has eluded NC State for most of the season — game-to-game consistency by its five starters. Getting all five, who have each proven they can score in double figures, moving in the same direction has been tough. Ratcheting up the defensive intensity from the get-go has also proven problematic after trailing by 20 at halftime against Clemson on Jan. 28 and 21 at the half at Wake Forest this past Tuesday.

— Jacey Zembal

The prevailing thought among the fan base after NC State opened January alternating between wins and losses for the first six games of the new year was that it was the most difficult part of the 2015 slate. That may have been true with a road date at Virginia, home tilts with Duke and UNC, and then a road swing through Florida at FSU and Miami, but the Pack has lost three of its four games since then against lesser opponents.

The lone win was a miraculous victory that needed overtime at Georgia Tech, but the most important takeaway was the return to productivity for point guard Anthony Barber, who played all 45 minutes. After being removed from the starting lineup and dealing with a personal loss that forced him to miss the FSU contest, he responded with back-to-back 20-point efforts, the first coming against the Yellow Jackets.

He has notched 51 points and 11 assists against just one turnover in the last two games. Those are impressive numbers for anybody, but especially a player who has looked lost on the floor for much of the beginning of the season.

It couldn’t come at a better time for NC State. The Pack is playing for its postseason life each and every game, regardless of the opponent, and that is how the final seven contests need to be treated. Hope is not completely lost, but it is evaporating quickly.

Barber successfully worked his way out of a funk earlier this season and will now try to lead his team out of a similar position.

The NC State softball team was chosen to finish third in the ACC by the league’s 11 head coaches this past Monday.

The Wolfpack received 82 points to finish third behind league favorite Florida State, which is ranked No. 5 in the preseason NFCA Top 25 poll, and No. 22 Notre Dame. The Seminoles collected 100 points and 10 first-place votes, and the Fighting Irish earned 88 points and received one first-place mention.

In the poll, head coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team on the ballot.

Virginia Tech and ACC newcomer Louisville were also listed among the top five, with 69 and 68 points, respectively. North Carolina was picked sixth (56), Syracuse seventh (44) and Georgia Tech was eighth (33). Boston College (32), Pitt (17) and Virginia (16) rounded out the poll.

NC State opens the season Friday at No. 9-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette. NC State received votes in both national top 25 polls — No. 18 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball and No. 14 in the NFCA poll.

Wolfpack Women’s Tennis Team Inks Two

The NC State women’s tennis team’s class of 2015 was ranked No. 21 in the country by TennisRecruting.net.

This marks the first time in program history that an incoming class has been listed among the top 25 in the nation. First-year head coach Simon Earnshaw signed Bianca Moldova and highly ranked international player Barbara Mancera during the early signing period.

Moldova is the highest-ranked American prospect and first blue-chip recruit to ever sign with the program. She is currently ranked No. 15 overall in the country for the class of 2015 and No. 24 in the United States Tennis Association (USTA) standings.

Mancera has been ranked as high as No. 4 in the junior division in Mexico and holds three national titles in doubles play in Puebla, Guadalajara and San Luis. She has compiled a 17-9 record against some of the highest-rated American players, including a recent straight-set win in tournament play against the player that was the top seed in the 2014 USTA National Championships Girls’ 16 hard courts division.

Pack Women’s Soccer Squad Signs Six

The NC State women’s soccer program received a big boost Thursday with six players signed for the upcoming season.

The four California products represent a change in recruiting demographics for the Pack. NC State has had only one California resident on its roster throughout the last 10 seasons and hasn’t had multiple Wolfpack members from the Golden State since 2004.

“In ACC women’s soccer, NC State needs to be a national brand and this class demonstrates that,” NC State head coach Tim Santoro said. “Southern California has the top talent pool in the country and our recruiting ties to the Northeast were a key reason we landed two top players from New Jersey and Virginia.

“Not only are we excited for this group to join us, but the group is excited to make its mark at NC State. This class consists of very driven and competitive student-athletes who’ve experienced success.”

By The Numbers

7

Class of 2016 football recruits from the state of North Carolina in the Rivals250 — No. 9 Dexter Lawrence of Wake Forest, No. 15 Keion Joyner of Havelock, No. 28 Austin Kendall of Waxhaw Cuthbertson, No. 85 Marquill Osborne of Cornelius Hough, No. 166 B.J. Emmons of Morganton Freedom, No. 185 Antonio Williams of New London North Stanly and No. 191 Sean Pollard of Southern Pines Pinecrest. Kendall and Osborne have verbally committed to Tennessee, Emmons to Georgia, Williams to Wisconsin and Pollard to Clemson.

21,172

Rushing yards combined in high school for NC State’s three running back signees — Nyheim Hines of Garner (N.C.) High, Johnny Frasier of Princeton (N.C.) High and Reggie Gallaspy of Greensboro (N.C.) Southern Guilford High.

Quotable

“Wake Forest (N.C.) High defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence is the big prize, the kind of five-star NFL prospect who has typically gone to the SEC. Keeping him in state would go a long way to keeping this year’s momentum going.”

— Columnist Luke DeCock on who will be the top target for NC State in the class of 2016 (The Raleigh News & Observer)

The NC State men’s basketball team’s recent stretch of inconsistent play, at times even within a single game, has left the players somewhat bewildered.

NC State has lost five of its last seven games, and in what was anticipated as an easier stretch the last three contests turned out to be anything but.

The Wolfpack struggled in the first halves of both the Clemson loss Jan. 28 and the loss at Wake Forest this past Tuesday. NCSU trailed 36-16 at halftime against the Tigers, and 51-30 at the break against the Demon Deacons. NC State roared back in both games, but couldn’t get over the hump down the stretch — Clemson won 68-57 and Wake Forest triumphed 88-84.

NC State played a quality first half against Georgia Tech Jan. 31 and led 40-31 at halftime. The Yellow Jackets enjoyed a 20-point swing by rallying from a 14-point deficit to build a six-point lead with 7:38 left in the second half, and eventually forced overtime.

GT sophomore forward Quinton Stephens missed two free throws with 4.7 seconds left, and Trevor Lacey hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to help the Pack escape with an 81-80 overtime win in Atlanta.

The uneven play has caused NC State to fall to 14-10 overall and 5-6 in the ACC (eighth place), and in a fight to make the NCAA Tournament.

“If I could explain it, we wouldn’t have these kinds of droughts and these kind of slow starts,” Lacey said. “We talk about it at practice and talk about coming out strong and finishing strong. We just have to come together as a team and put it together.

“For what we want to do, we aren’t helping ourselves by losing. All of them are tough and we don’t need any more.”

NC State’s formula for coming back in games usually involves picking up the intensity on the defensive end and defensive rebounding. For instance, Wake Forest shot lights out 65.5 percent in the first half before coming back down to earth and shooting 45.5 percent in the second half. Clemson drained 5 of 10 from three-point land in the first half and took advantage of NCSU shooting a miserable 6 of 26 from the field in building its halftime lead.

Georgia Tech’s comeback was spurred on by a 22-7 edge on the offensive boards, which resulted in a 21-4 advantage in second-chance points.

“We talk about [consistent play], but we have to carry it over and make it happen,” Lacey said. “All the times we have been down, teams have been exposing us defensively and we have had bad defense.”

Lacey praised the Demon Deacons for their ability to make the Wolfpack pay when given opportunities. WFU was also aided by shooting a red-hot 9 of 15 on three-pointers during the first half.

“You can’t do too much about that,” Lacey said of Wake Forest’s hot shooting. “We played good defense for 12 minutes or 10 minutes, but they just made shots.”

NC State likely has welcomed its week off before playing No. 3-ranked Virginia on Feb. 11 at PNC Arena.

“We can be great and we can be bad,” NCSU fourth-year head coach Mark Gottfried said. “We are all over the board. I’ve coached a long time now, and I’ve had young teams that do that, the consistency part of the game. It’s tough.

“Even within the game, we can be great and we can be bad. We are everywhere right now.”

Gottfried knows the deeper the hole, the more energy that gets expanded in trying to dig out of it.

“Our guys played with a lot of effort, courage in the second half [at Wake Forest],” Gottfried said. “In my opinion, not enough in the first half. The way they played the first half, they were terrific.”

NC State sophomore point guard Anthony Barber carried the Wolfpack offense against both Georgia Tech and NC State, snapping out of a slump. The former McDonald’s All-American had 23 points, seven assists and one turnover against the Yellow Jackets, plus a career-high 28 points, four assists and zero turnovers against the Demon Deacons, and combined to shoot 8 of 13 on three-pointers in the two contests. Barber had scored 37 points total over the previous seven games in which he played, and had made 5 of 20 three-pointers prior to the Georgia Tech win.

“Coach has told me again to, ‘Be you and let it loose,’” Barber said.

The hope was Barber’s spark would take the offense to a different level, but the Wolfpack was still uneven on offense.

“I think we came out [at Wake Forest], we didn’t have the energy that we did at Georgia Tech,” Barber said. “Most games where you come out sluggish and are down by that much going into halftime, down 20, it’s going to be hard to come back in 20 minutes in another half, and that team has the momentum.”

Barber said the key is to be mentally ready and to not take any opponent for granted before the games tip-off.

“I think we have to come out with that sense of urgency that we are going to play like this the whole game, like we did the second half [against Wake Forest],” Barber said. “We just have to play harder than what we did.”

Barber knows the next several days of practice could help define the season. The Wolfpack hosts No. 3 Virginia on Feb. 11 and plays at No. 9 Louisville on Feb. 14.

“It is a mental thing and we have to get back in the gym and not worry about this game or other games,” Barber said. “We just have to move forward. We have to practice hard and do the little things to come back and be successful.”

— Jacey Zembal

Vinny Del Negro Receives ACC Honor

Vinny Del Negro will represent NC State in the 2015 class of ACC Legends at the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament March 10-14 in Greensboro, N.C.

Del Negro was the MVP of the ACC Tournament following NC State’s remarkable run to the championship in 1987. Del Negro epitomized the scrappiness and never-give-up attitude of head coach Jim Valvano’s Wolfpack teams. The Springfield, Mass., native emerged as a team leader during his junior year, keying NC State to an ACC title with three stellar tournament games. He had 15 points and 12 rebounds in the Wolfpack’s overtime victory against Duke in the first round, 12 points and five rebounds in a double-overtime victory over Wake Forest in the semifinals, and hit the winning two free throws with 14 seconds remaining in NC State’s one-point win over top-seeded North Carolina in the championship game.

Del Negro earned All-ACC honors after averaging 15.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game his senior year in 1988. Del Negro went on to play professionally for 13 years — including 11 seasons in the NBA — and then remained involved with the game as broadcaster and front office executive before becoming head coach of the Chicago Bulls in 2008. Del Negro’s teams compiled a winning percentage of .533 during his five seasons as head coach of the Bulls and Los Angeles Clippers.

The Legends will be featured at the annual ACC Legends luncheon March 13, and will be introduced during halftime of the first semifinal game that same day.

Usually, it was because of the hilarious story he was telling about longtime friend Jim Valvano or an anecdote from nearly 50 years of covering sports in the Triangle as a newspaper, television and radio personality.

Sometimes, it was because he maybe flubbed a name or said something only he thought was appropriate to the conversation or interview at hand. And those were among the many things that made him lovable to be around.

Nothing was better than sitting in a press box next to Donald Joseph Shea, hearing his raspy voice asking the inevitable “What happened? Who made that play?”

Nothing was better than having a pregame meal with him and listening to his take on what was happening on the field or the court.

Nothing was more fun than being on a television or radio set when Don started telling tales, some true, some exaggerated and some misremembered.

Those stories ended on Monday, when Shea, just a few days after his 77th birthday, was found dead of natural causes at his home in Chapel Hill. The former sports director at Durham’s WTVD television station and longtime host of NC State’s football and basketball shows is survived by his two adult sons, Kyle and Derek.

It was a sudden loss of someone who had spent time working the phones all last week, talking to longtime friend Becky Bumgardner about the slight touch of flu he had and to Wolfpack Club executive director Bobby Purcell on three different occasions. He called former Wolfpack baseball and football star Freddie Combs to tell him that he had been elected into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, an organization for which Shea had served on the board of directors for decades.

“Don was always so positive,” Purcell said. “Every time you talked to him, you always felt better about life and the world.”

Lee Fowler said he talked to Shea only about once a year since he left as NC State’s athletics director, but the most recent time was last week.

“It always made my day when we talked,” Fowler said.

For former basketball coach and athletics director Les Robinson, Shea was both a loyal friend and witty opponent.

“When I came here in 1990, there was a lot of crap going on,” Robinson said. “And even though he was very close to Jimmy, he didn’t bat an eye about embracing me and staying positive throughout my entire time as athletics director. He was behind me 100 percent, and if anyone ever said anything bad, he would say: ‘Kiss my ass.’

“At the same time, he’s one of the only friends I ever had who liked to joke and tease people more than I did.”

A native of San Francisco, Shea came to North Carolina when he was stationed at Fort Bragg as a member of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Special Forces. When he left the Army, he went looking for a job and found himself as a sportswriter with TheDurham Herald-Sun.

After a year, he tried out for a sportscasting job at WTVD, the Triangle’s ABC affiliate located in Durham.

“I didn’t know lickety-split about television when I went over around 1967,” he said in a 2008 feature story in TheWolfpacker. “I auditioned and was horrible. The producer told me to get in front of the camera and make love to it. It was hard.”

Throughout his career, however, Shea was meticulous with his words and rarely deviated from the script he wrote days in advance for both features and news stories. Never exactly on the cutting edge of technology, he pecked out his stories on a manual typewriter and faxed his scripts to the various outlets for which he produced many pieces.

He would spend hours in the editing room getting the inflection just right. He did multiple takes on the television show, sometimes to the dismay of the coaches who were eager to finish up their television duties and get back to game dissection or preparation.

“He was never really ‘One-Take Don,’” said Fowler, who did a weekly show with Shea during his tenure at NC State. “But he always wanted to make sure everything was perfect.”

One of the most fun things I ever did was the Bobby Murray Tailgate Show with Don and NC State women’s basketball/Carolina Mudcats play-by-play announcer Patrick Kinas and Durham Bulls announcer Neil Solondz. We spent an hour before every football game talking about college football and sports topics of the day. The radio guys had a hard time keeping Don and me on topic, but that’s what made it so enjoyable.

Fans always came up to Don to talk. Wherever he was, he was a celebrity, whether it was a studio, press row or the grocery store.

“Hey, you’re Don Shea,” fans would often say as he walked by.

If he was in a hurry, he might say “right you are” as he walked by.

Usually, though, he stopped and talked, listened to a story and just chatted with someone eager to tell a story he already knew, because he had lived through it.

“More than anything else, Don was a people person,” longtime colleague Tony Haynes said. “He loved being around people, telling stories and listening to what they had to say.”

He loved a good meal and a good glass of wine. Both Fowler and Robinson had the same question for Shea whenever they saw him.

“Hey, Don, are you having a good year at the plate?” they said.

“Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah,” he answered in his ever-gregarious voice. “Can’t you tell?”

Don Shea (Photo by Tim Peeler)

In recent years, Shea had begun to manage his weight a little better with regular exercise, which included standing yoga and Pilates classes.

During his yearlong stint as a sportswriter for TheDurham Herald-Sun and his 17 years as sports director for WTVD, Shea covered the Triangle, through Ace Parker, Lou Holtz, Bill Dooley in football and Dean Smith, Bill Foster, Norm Sloan and others in basketball.

Shea had a long association with NC State through his relationship with Valvano, but he was a man of all schools. One of his best friends was former North Carolina All-American running back Don McCauley. He attended the same church as Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski, often talking about a big game from the previous week or knowing when it was best not to make eye contact with college basketball’s winningest coach. And for more than a quarter century he helped raise money for the Duke Children’s Hospital through charity golf events, such as the Duke Children’s Classic and the Jimmy V Kids Classic.

“Don Shea was a terrific friend,” Krzyzewski said. “We actually attended the same 7:45 Sunday mass together and afterward, we would always make time to talk about what was going on in the world of sports.

“Don was a great colleague to my special friend Jim Valvano. No one helped NC State more than Don. He also helped the Duke Children’s Hospital and the fight against cancer. He was an amazing guy, and I am incredibly saddened by his sudden loss.”

As much as he loved people and charity work, he loved sports even more, especially anything involving his hometown 49ers and Giants. He also fell in love with college football and basketball after moving to North Carolina.

In 1983, Shea was on NC State’s fateful trip to Corvallis, Ore., after Valvano and his team won an improbable championship at the ACC Tournament in Atlanta with narrow wins over Wake Forest, defending national champion North Carolina (in overtime) and No. 1 Virginia.

He was sitting on the wooden bleachers with writers Frank Dascenzo, Caulton Tudor, Bill Cole and Leonard Laye when Valvano told them, “I think if we can get by Pepperdine, we can win the whole thing.”

It took double-overtime in one of the worst NCAA basketball games ever played, but the Wolfpack beat Pepperdine in a half-filled arena and went on to beat UNLV, Utah, Virginia (again), Georgia and top-ranked Houston for the storied 1983 NCAA title.

Tutor and Shea found a bar in Corvallis, which was nearly empty because the first and second rounds of the tournament were the week of Oregon State’s spring break. The owner left town with the students, but trusted the sportswriters with a key and free run of the bar. When Valvano found out they had their own private club, he joined them after practice.

In return, Valvano took them back to see his room at the motor inn where the team was staying, which was replete with velvet walls and its own hot tub.

It was that kind of place.

There were so many good times on that trip, all the stories wouldn’t fit in a book, much less a remembrance column. But it was on that three-week ride that Shea and Valvano developed the tight relationship they had until Valvano’s death in 1993.

When Shea and WTVD parted ways in 1984, Valvano swooped in and offered Shea the chance to be a partner at JTV, the coach’s production and marketing company. Shea not only hosted Valvano’s shows, but he helped sell ads and market the many — many, many — money-makings ideas that Valvano came up with while maintaining his role as NC State’s basketball coach and athletics director.

“It changed my life, and I will always remember Jim and the good times we had,” Shea said in 2008. “Working with him was a little different than with other coaches. All I did with them was the shows. With Jim, we did the shows and were running the company.”

His bond with NC State grew tighter even after Valvano’s death, as he continued to host shows for what became Wolfpack Sports Marketing and the NC State football and basketball networks. He became so tied to NC State that in 2011 he joined Frank Weedon and Curtis and Jacqueline Dail as one of about a dozen people to ever earn the title “honorary alumni” by the NC State Alumni Association.

From Valvano to Robinson to Herb Sendek to Sidney Lowe, from Dick Sheridan to Mike O’Cain to Chuck Amato and Tom O’Brien, Shea hosted weekly television shows and radio call-in shows.

“I used to sit beside Don on press row in football, and he would be on edge, especially during the Sheridan era,” Tudor said. “Dick wasn’t always comfortable in front of a camera and took losses about as bad as any coach I’ve ever seen. If the Pack lost, Don would say something like, ‘Oh man, going to be a long night tonight.’

“But he had a real gift for making everyone around him feel comfortable on the set. He got along with a wide variety of personalities. That’s just how he was.”

Even when things went badly for Shea — like his departure from local television — he was upbeat.

“Bruce Phillips and I met him a day or two after he split with WTVD and didn’t know what to expect,” Tudor recalled. “I thought he would be dejected or upset. But he said something would come along. He was very optimistic.”

He told his friends that nothing could budge him from the Triangle.

“I’m not leaving this market unless I have to,” Shea said. “I’m not from here originally, but this is the place where I want to spend the rest of my life. This area is where I belong.”

Quarterback Russell Wilson once again rebounded from a horrid start in a playoff game for a spectacular finish in the Super Bowl. He did not complete a single pass and was sacked twice in the first 24 minutes of the game, but completed 12 of his final 19 attempts through the air for 247 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

This time, however, Wilson’s comeback was not quite strong enough. He threw an interception at the 2-yard line with just 20 seconds left in regulation, giving the New England Patriots a 28-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.

It was still a respectable performance for the third-year quarterback, who currently ranks fifth in NFL history in playoff passer rating with a mark of 97.8. Wilson nearly led his fourth playoff game-winning drive, which would have moved him into a tie for fifth with Miami’s Dan Marino and Pittsburgh’s Terry Bradshaw on the all-time list, but he fell just short to the most accomplished signal-caller in league history, Tom Brady.

Wilson led the Seahawks to one of the most improbable comebacks in playoff annals in the NFC Championship Game against Green Bay when his four early interceptions put Seattle in a hole.

His team trailed by 12, but a pair of touchdowns in a 44-second span late in the final quarter gave Seattle new life. Although the Packers tied the game with a 48-yard field goal at the end of regulation, Wilson led a game-clinching drive to open overtime and gave his squad their second straight Super Bowl berth.

Wilson finished the postseason 41-of-72 passing (56.9 percent) for 724 yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions. He posted a passer rating of 90.3 and also rushed for 86 yards and a score. He trailed only Brady’s 11 scores in playoff touchdown responsibility this season.

However, the quarterback wasn’t the only former NCSU star to have a memorable postseason. Starting right guard J.R. Sweezy was the only offensive lineman who opened every contest up front for the Seahawks’ powerful run game and was singled out by the announcers on the NBC broadcast for some great blocks in the big game.

Kicker Steven Hauschka also became the Pack’s all-time leading scorer in Super Bowl history, passing former 49ers kicker Mike Cofer with 17 points. He made a 27-yard field goal and converted on a trio of extra points on Super Sunday, which gave the Pro Bowl alternate the ninth-most points scored (15) in this year’s playoffs.

NBA Player Updates

Through Feb. 4

J.J. Hickson (Played at NC State in 2008), C/F, Denver Nuggets: Has played in 42 games with five starts for the 19-31 Nuggets … Averaging 20.0 minutes, 8.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.6 blocks per contest, while shooting 49.5 percent from the floor … Posted a 15-point and 14-rebound effort Jan. 23 against Boston for his eighth double-double of the season.

T.J. Warren (2013-14), F, Phoenix Suns: Was sent back down to the Suns’ D-League affiliate on Wednesday to get minutes — his fourth assignment to the Bakersfield Jam on the year … Appeared in 15 games with the Suns and averaged 8.9 minutes, 3.5 points and 0.9 rebounds per game … Has posted averages of 26.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game in seven contests with the Jam.

NC State landed a big piece in its 2016 recruiting class when three-star cornerback James Valdez, formerly of Lake Marion High in Santee, S.C., before transferring to nearby Orangeburg Wilkinson High in December, made a verbal commitment to the Pack.

James Valdez (Photo courtesy Rivals.com)

The 5-11, 190-pounder stood out on both sides of the ball last fall, catching 18 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns, and also recording 29 tackles, seven interceptions and 14 passes defended.

Valdez’s original intention had been to make his commitment in June, but that changed, and he picked the Pack on Jan. 25.

“When I transferred schools, I basically had my mind made up,” he said. “I actually committed when I was in church. I was praying about it and just heard to go for it.

“You have to follow what your mind sees.”

NC State running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Des Kitchings was responsible for recruiting Valdez, who also held offers from South Carolina, Tennessee, UNC and Wake Forest at the time of his pledge and has since picked up a tender from Michigan.

Valdez credited his comfort level with Kitchings and head coach Dave Doeren as deciding factors, along with the fact that his favorite cornerback is former Wolfpack pick artist David Amerson, currently with the Washington Redskins.

“I’m just trying to go to NC State, continue the legacy that they already have and be a great defensive back,” he said.

The junior is ranked as the No. 7 class of 2016 prospect in his home state and the nation’s No. 23 cornerback by Rivals.com. Valdez prides himself on being a physical defensive back, something that Rivals.com football recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt noticed when observing Valdez in action at the Rivals Camp Series presented by Under Armour stop in Charlotte last March.

“The depth of the underclassman defensive backs was really impressive, and Valdez was one of those who stood out,” Helmholdt stated. “He was also one of the bigger cornerbacks, and his length is definitely an asset. Another major asset is his speed. Valdez easily kept up with receivers down the field. That size/speed combo will draw a lot of college looks.”

Helmholdt has already proven prophetic with the recent U-M offer, but for the moment Valdez said that he is “all in.”

“I can’t predict the future, so there’s no telling what can happen between now and the time that I graduate, but now I’m all in,” he said.

One thing that NCSU has in its corner between now and when Valdez signs — and the cornerback has hinted at the possibility of graduating early — is the strong relationship that has been fostered over time.

“If there was one word I can use to describe it, I would say family,” Valdez said. “When I was at camp, Coach Doeren came up to me personally and offered a full scholarship. I liked that, it showed he really wanted me, and Coach Kitchings did a good job of recruiting me.

“He made it known that he wanted me to attend there for college. He never slacked off. Our communication was great every day, and he was always showing love.”

Valdez gives NC State six verbal commitments already in the 2016 class. Doeren noted on signing day that with just 11 scholarship seniors on the 2015 roster, next year’s haul could be limited to no more than 15 signees. Valdez is the highest ranked of the six pledges so far and the first from the state of South Carolina.

Ten years ago, I was completing my first National Signing Day experience. That fact hit home when Sammy Batten of TheFayetteville Observer, one of the godfathers of covering football recruiting in the state of North Carolina, called to interview me for a story about the anniversary of the high-profile recruitment of running back Toney Baker.

Baker ended his prolific high school career at Ragsdale High in Jamestown, N.C., with 10,231 rushing yards — a total that still ranks second highest in state history and sixth best nationally. Despite overtures from just about everyone nationally, Baker chose NCSU during the broadcast of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio.

It was a dramatic moment that spawned widespread attention on The Wolfpacker.com’s message boards. Recruiting has changed an awful lot since then.

Baker’s recruitment came in an era of when the following for recruiting was, in a word, booming. The popularity of 1-900 phone numbers was being replaced by premium websites that were bringing subscribers a level of detail on the recruiting process that had never been reported.

Reflecting back on Baker’s recruitment is not necessary to understand how much times have changed. My nearly 3-year-old daughter Julia will be shocked when I tell her how phones were once not wireless, televisions were once not flat screens and the only way to turn the channel was to actually manually push buttons on the TV itself.

Like everything else, recruiting and its coverage has changed with the times. Baker and his family changed their phone number during the process to avoid the hassle of the continuous calls from both coaches and reporters. Thus a lot of his recruitment was done in the dark away from public view.

Hindsight, with the benefits of more knowledge of how recruiting operates, would have made Baker’s decision far less suspenseful. He made only one official visit, and that was to NC State about a month before his announcement date. That alone was a dead giveaway to what Baker was going to do.

Ten years later, it is a good bet that Baker would have used the social media platforms, notably Twitter, to keep fans, reporters and even coaches abreast to what was happening. Recruits are becoming more savvy in controlling when and what information they will reveal.

There have been other changes in recruiting.

One of my first interviews when I was hired was five-star defensive back Demetrice Morley from Killian High in Miami. Former head coach Chuck Amato had built a pipeline from Killian to NC State — signing five players from the school, including future NFL players in safety Andre Maddox and linebackers Pat Thomas and Stephen Tulloch. Morley was committed to Florida, but it was a big deal to report that he was still interested in the Pack.

Morley did not end up at NC State, or Florida. He signed with Tennessee and made 51 tackles and two interceptions from his safety position as a true freshman. Then his career took multiple detours. He missed the 2007 season due to academics and eventually was dismissed from the team in 2009. At last check, he was released from the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL in 2014.

Nowadays, the number of Morley-type recruitments has multiplied. In this recruiting cycle alone there were nine players who signed with NC State Wednesday that at some point had pledged to another school, ranging from Lithonia (Ga.) Arabia Mountain High quarterback Jakobi Meyers (Kent State) to Princeton (N.C.) High running back Johnny Frasier (Florida State).

Subsequently, NC State lost a pair of prospects who at one point were committed to the Pack: quarterback Austin King from Alpharetta (Ga.) High decided to ink with Indiana and defensive tackle Jabari Zuniga from Sprayberry High in Marietta, Ga., took a late offer from Florida.

What’s the reason for all the flipping? The answer goes back to the boom that was exploding 10 years ago. With the increased access to information made possible by the Internet, recruits have become more informed and, in some cases, more susceptible to rumor-mongering.

The explosion of sites like Rivals.com, to which TheWolfpacker.com is affiliated, has also increased the exposure for prospects. The day Baker’s commitment to NCSU happened, not coincidentally, came when NC State was hosting a huge official visit weekend. Legend has it that all the televisions in the Murphy Center were on the game when Baker announced so that the multitude of visitors would see the big news.

It must have worked. Five players committed before heading home, headlined by four-stars Curtis Crouch, an offensive lineman from E.E. Smith High in Fayetteville, N.C., and J.C. Neal, a defensive back from Lakewood High in Sumter, S.C.

One of the pledges was also a little-known linebacker named Ray Michel from Fort Myers (Fla.) High. Michel was not even in the Rivals.com database, and the only way to confirm his pledge was to literally call 4-1-1 and luckily there was a Ray Michel Sr., in the Fort Myers phone book.

The new Rivals Camp Series presented by Under Armour has made access to players and their contact information far easier. The last prospect we had to add to the database that late in the recruiting process was cornerback Tyrrell Burriss from Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland in 2011.

Even the most antiquated aspect of National Signing Day is finally beginning to evolve: the fax machine. Prospects are now beginning to send their letters of intent over smartphones.

The NC State football team added some star power, but also took care of key needs, especially in the trenches, in the class of 2015.

Head coach Dave Doeren with Emanuel McGirt (Photo by Ken Martin)

NCSU signed 22 players Wednesday, including five of the top 11 players in the state of North Carolina according to Rivals.com. Thirteen of the players hailed from North Carolina, and the Wolfpack also signed three players from Georgia, two players apiece from South Carolina and Florida, and one apiece from Louisiana and Pennsylvania.

Rivals.com ranked the haul No. 35 overall in the country and No. 7 in the ACC. The Wolfpack’s class of 2014 was ranked No. 30. NCSU third-year head coach Dave Doeren is excited to have the newcomers build off last year’s 8-5 season, which included going 3-5 in the ACC.

“There were too many great players leaving our state, and it was our goal and our mission to keep the best players at home,” Doeren said. “I feel like we have done everything we can to once again show that it isn’t lip service. That means a lot to our coaching staff, and it means a lot to our fan base.”

Garner (N.C.) High all-purpose back Nyheim Hines was the highest-ranked signee, checking in at No. 94 overall in the country and No. 3 in North Carolina according to Rivals.com. Lincolnton (N.C.) High senior defensive end Darian Roseboro was six spots down at No. 100 nationally and No. 4 in North Carolina, and he had been a top 50 prospect and the best player in the state until the final round of rankings by Rivals.com.

Durham (N.C.) Hillside left tackle Emanuel McGirt used a big senior year to rise up to No. 195 nationally and No. 7 overall in North Carolina, while Princeton (N.C.) High running back Johnny Frasier was ranked No. 215 overall and No. 8 in North Carolina.

Greensboro (N.C.) Southern Guilford running back Reggie Gallaspy is the third star back to sign with the Wolfpack. The four-star prospect is ranked the No. 28 running back in the country and No. 11 overall in North Carolina, after rushing for 3,318 yards and 52 touchdowns his senior year.

Doeren was able to convince star in-state prospects that they can have it all at NC State and don’t have to leave the state.

“Seven of our coaches are in-state recruiters, and two of them are out of state. Those seven guys do a great job of getting people on to our campus,” Doeren said.

“It is really about educating the masses about how great a place NC State is. The more we can, the more the trend will continue. You can get 10-to-15 great players from this state.”

“[We want] to be able to create competition at practice where guys have no choice but to give us their best,” Doeren said. “I think that is what happened this last year for us. We were able to add a lot of depth to the roster, and we were able to rotate more position groups. If you saw our season, we finished as strong as anybody in the country with our play.”

Doeren and the coaches have proven that they are not afraid to play younger players — 14 true freshmen earned game experience last fall.

“Why wouldn’t you want to come be in a bowl game, play early and win?” Doeren asked rhetorically. “It’s nice when you can talk like that, but even better when you can show it.”

Patience proved crucial in landing some of the players. McGirt originally picked North Carolina on June 17, Frasier verbally committed to Florida State on Aug. 11, and Roseboro picked Michigan on Aug. 29. They were three of eight signees that NC State convinced to change their minds.

“Sometimes things happen early for a young man, but we are going to stick with them and stay with them,” Doeren said. “I think NC State has such a great package for people that they don’t know about. You hear that a lot when you bring young men and parents on campus. They are just amazed and they say that.”

Roseboro led a quality group of defensive linemen, some of whom might end up outgrowing defensive end and moving to defensive tackle. NCSU’s strong close this past two weeks netted North Charleston (S.C.) Fort Dorchester defensive tackle Eurndraus Bryant on Tuesday. Olenga switched from East Carolina to NC State on Jan. 25, and Riley switched from Kentucky to NC State on Jan. 30.

The massive 6-2, 335-pound Bryant and 6-4, 310-pound Quentez Johnson will both reshape their bodies at NC State to help out at defensive tackle.

Roseboro was athletic enough to rush for 1,459 yards and 34 touchdowns for Lincolnton High at 6-4 and 283 pounds.

“He is just a good ol’ country boy that loves football,” Doeren said. “I like being around guys like that. When he was in camp, he was a quick learner and picked up things.”

Five offensive linemen matched the five defensive linemen NC State brought in. Left tackle McGirt leads the way, and he is joined by Contra Costa (Calif.) Junior College tackle Daris Workman of Greensboro, N.C., Charlotte Christian tackle Philip Walton, McCoy and Wiltz.

“We had some needs that were extremely important on the line of scrimmages,” Doeren said. “You can see that with the O-Line and D-Line recruiting.

“Playing early anywhere is a challenge, but playing early on the O-Line is very difficult because of the quality of defensive linemen they are going to face in this league. With the guys that we have coming in, we are going to need them to.”

The unexpected losses of freshman wide receiver Bo Hines, who moved on to Yale, and sophomore wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling to transfer could open the door for some of the three receivers brought in. Winston-Salem (N.C.) Carver wide receiver Brian Sessoms rivals Nyheim Hines (no relation to Bo) for fastest player in the class. Hines has a personal-best of 10.5 seconds in the 100-meter dash, and Sessoms has clocked 10.69.

Hines will likely play running back, slot receiver and even has Wildcat quarterback experience. He’ll also be a major factor as a punt returner and kick returner.

“He could be a great Jet-[sweep] guy, and the guy’s skillset is crazy,” Doeren said. “He can run straight ahead, and he is one of the best hurdlers in the state. He is going to do a lot of things for us.”

Simmons and Charlotte Mallard Creek wide receiver Vernon Grier were the beneficiaries of the two transfers (Bo Hines, Valdes-Scantling), and both verbally committed in mid-January.

Meyers could be the quarterback of the future, and he also benefited from a change in plans. Fellow Georgia native Austin King of Alpharetta High decided to switch from NC State to Indiana on Dec. 15, and that opened the door for the Wolfpack to eventually recruit and sign Meyers away from Kent State.

NC State made sure each position unit was taken care of except cornerback. Nicholson and Smith-Williams will help fortify the Wolfpack’s 4-2-5 scheme. Gibonsville (N.C.) Eastern Guilford safety Jarius Morehead hails from the same school as NC State athletic director Debbie Yow and former Wolfpack stars Torry and Terrence Holt. Morehead joins Phillips in competing for one of the three safety positions.

Kicker Kyle Bambard of Walled Lake (Mich.) Western and punter A.J. Cole of College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy were both part of NCSU’s 2014 signing class, but grey-shirted this past fall. They’ll help boost next year’s special teams and will have another integral member join them.

Monroe (N.C.) Sun Valley long snapper Tyler Griffiths will be handling the duties in ensuring Bambard and Cole have smooth kicks.

The Wolfpack special teams should also get a boost with both Hines and Sessoms possessing game-breaking abilities in the return game.

Creating depth throughout the roster has been a two-year process for Doeren. As a result, the class of 2016 should be a smaller one (possibly fewer than 15 signees).

— Jacey Zembal

Click on the links below to read comprehensive bios for each of NC State’s signees.

Signature Win Still Eluding Pack Women

“There’s no excuses, no what-ifs — we just have to find a way to get it done.”

That is NC State women’s basketball head coach Wes Moore’s succinct assessment of the task facing his Wolfpack squad in the four weeks remaining in the 2014-15 regular season.

With just eight games left before the ACC Tournament begins on March 4 in Greensboro, N.C., the Pack finds itself facing the grim possibility of falling short of its primary goal each season: qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. Heading into tonight’s 22nd game of the season, at home against Pitt, the Pack (12-9, 3-5 ACC) is coming off its first three-game losing streak in Moore’s two years at the helm, has yet to win a game against a ranked opponent and will face three teams in the Associated Press top 20 (No. 15 Duke, at home on Feb. 22; No. 9 Florida State, in Tallahassee, Fla., on Feb. 26; and No. 4 and ACC leader Notre Dame, at home on March 1 in the regular-season finale).

“It’s been disappointing, no doubt, and frustrating,” Moore said of the Pack’s three-game skid the past two weeks, which included defeats to North Carolina (67-63 on Jan. 22) and at Virginia (71-63 on Jan. 29) in which NC State led a majority of the game, and a 66-49 defeat at Syracuse that included a 23-0 Orange run to start the second half that erased a six-point Pack lead.

“We’ve been right there in a number of games, but we haven’t been able to finish,” Moore noted. “And it’s been different things in each game — against Carolina and Syracuse our bigs [junior post Carlee Schuhmacher and freshman Chelsea Nelson] got in foul trouble and we went stretches when we couldn’t score. Then at Virginia we played much better, especially after our second half at Syracuse — but they shot the lights out [making 11 of 15 three-point attempts], and we hurt ourselves down the stretch with some quick shots and turnovers.

“I still think this group can turn things around and be in the hunt for the postseason, but obviously, we don’t have a lot of time left. We have to try to take advantage of being home this week, try to get the momentum swung and get things turned around down the stretch.”

Moore still feels that a “signature” win — beating one of the ranked teams remaining on the schedule — coupled with victories against the teams with lower RPIs (Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Boston College), plus a win or two in the ACC Tournament could be enough to earn an NCAA invite, especially in light of the conference’s No. 2 overall RPI. The last ACC team to make last year’s NCAA field (Florida State) did it with a losing (7-9) conference record — but was 20-11 overall.

Earlier this season, Moore estimated that nine conference wins would be enough to earn an NCAA Tournament berth. But that would mean the Pack winning six of its final eight outings, or a combination of regular-season and ACC Tournament wins.

“We’re up for the challenge,” Pack senior captain Len’Nique Brown-Hoskin said. “We want to get to the NCAA Tournament, and we’re willing to do whatever it takes.

“We’ve hung in there with all the ranked teams we’ve played so far — it’s just going to take us finding a way to pull it out at the end.”

— Brian Rapp

Scoring Droughts, Foul Problems Plague Pack In Trio Of Losses

While NC State head coach Wes Moore cited a number of factors in the Pack’s three ACC setbacks the last two weeks, one main area of concern has been the team’s offensive droughts, especially in the losses to North Carolina and Syracuse.

Against the Tar Heels at home on Jan. 22, the Pack built a 13-point lead in the opening 20 minutes while UNC suffered through one of its worst shooting performances of the season, making just 8 of 39 shots (20.5 percent). The lead was still 10 points at 35-25 with 15 minutes left in the game, but three consecutive Tar Heels steals on inbounds passes led to four quick points to spark a run that eventually tied the game at 54 with 3:33 left.

By that point, junior post Carlee Schuhmacher had already fouled out, and freshman Chelsea Nelson would follow with 12 seconds left and the visitors up 61-59.

Tar Heels guard Brittany Rountree sealed the win for UNC by making eight straight free throws in the final 24 seconds to finish with nine points — all from the foul line.

“It’s a tough, heartbreaking loss,” Moore said afterward. “When you lead for 33 minutes at home, you feel like you have to find a way to get it done. I’m disappointed we couldn’t get a bigger lead because they started off pretty slow offensively, but it was good because we’d been getting behind the last few games ourselves and had to dig out of holes.

“We really need Carlee and Chelsea to be on the floor — they weren’t out there very long [Schuhmacher played 19 minutes, and Nelson 13] and they destroyed us on the boards.”

The Heels, in a reversal of the game in Chapel Hill, outrebounded the Pack 51-35, with a 20-3 advantage in offensive rebounds that led directly to a 14-0 edge in second-chance points.

“That’s the ball game, right there,” Moore pointed out.

At Syracuse, NC State built a 29-26 lead at the half, despite being outscored 16-0 from the foul line (the Orange would go on to hit 18 of 35 free throws for the game, compared to 5 of 10 by the Pack). But after redshirt sophomore Dominique Wilson buried a three-pointer 40 seconds into the second half for a 32-26 NC State lead, Syracuse scored the next 23 straight points — helped in large part by Schumacher and Nelson both going to the bench with foul trouble. Both fouled out for the second straight game, helping Orange forward Briana Day collect 16 of her team’s 43 boards (to go with 11 points) while Orange guard Alex Peterson scored 15 of her game-high 27 points from the foul line to give Syracuse its first-ever win over the Pack after consecutive losses last season.

Moore was also concerned about the Pack’s lack of intensity during the second half of the loss, which he addressed prior to the team’s trip to Charlottesville three days later. Playing with the fire that’s more in character, the Pack battled the Cavaliers through a contest that featured nine lead changes and six ties, and had NC State winning in the paint (28-16), off turnovers (15-10) and in second-chance points (11-9).

But with Cavaliers freshman guard Mikayla Venson making all six of her three-point attempts, and NC State missing nine of its last 10 shots in the final 3:40 of the game, Virginia erased an eight-point, second-half deficit to win 71-63.

“We had a few good looks that just didn’t go down,” Moore said. “And we took a couple of quick shots and got a little out of control. I’m proud of the kids and the effort, which was a lot better than our last game — but it’s still frustrating.”

— Brian Rapp

Scoring Balance Top Priority For Stretch Drive

While NC State head coach Wes Moore has always stressed defense and rebounding as the two primary keys to winning consistently, his main concern heading into the final four weeks of the regular season is the Pack’s offense.

Prior to the UNC game on Jan. 22, the Pack was averaging 70.7 points a game on 40.0-percent shooting. The next three games, NC State shot 37.0 percent (20 of 54) against the Tar Heels; 27.7 percent (18 of 65) at Syracuse; and 39.4 percent (26 of 66) at Virginia.

Of even more concern has been the drop in output of sophomore guard Miah Spencer. Before the UNC game, Spencer had been averaging a team-leading 17.4 points per ACC contest on 43.0-percent shooting. The last three outings, she’s made just 30 of 82 attempts (36.6 percent) and scored 10 total points — 2.7 per game.

“Miah’s had some problems with her knee,” Moore said, noting she had to come out of the games at both Syracuse and Virginia in crucial stretches. “And [Len’Nique Brown-Hoskin’s] been struggling a little, too [13 for 36 the last three games, though she scored a team-leading 21 against UNC].

“We got good games from Carlee and Chelsea at Virginia [and 14 points from sophomore forward Jennifer Mathurin, including a 4-of-10 effort from three-point range], but we have to find a way to get all our guards hitting on all cylinders again offensively. We have to have balance and all five spots contributing and being a scoring threat for us to be successful.”

Brown-Hoskin also feels the team needs to keep its focus, especially when the shots aren’t falling.

“We have to find a way, whether it’s taking it inside or getting an offensive rebound for a put-back, to give us energy back, because when we have these dry spells, our energy gets low,” she said.

“So, honestly, leaders have to step up. Me personally, I have to step up, talk more and get us pumped up and going no matter what the score is.”

— Brian Rapp

Notes

Two second-year players have been the bright spots for NC State in the Pack’s recent stretch of setbacks. Redshirt sophomore guard Dominique Wilson has taken over the team’s scoring lead, averaging 14.4 points a game (15.6 in ACC contests) and netting her first career double-double with 15 points and 10 boards against North Carolina. Wilson has scored in double figures in 18 of the Pack’s 21 game to date, including the last nine. Sophomore forward Jennifer Mathurin averaged 13.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest while shooting 47.4 percent (46.2 percent from three-point range) in NC State’s three losses to UNC, Syracuse and Virginia.

Sophomore point guard Lavar Batts has been on a roll of late, and colleges are taking notice.

NC State assistant coach Bobby Lutz has been tracking Batts for months, and watched him and his Concord (N.C.) Robinson High squad defeat rival Concord High 98-77 on Jan. 21.

Lutz’s trip followed after Batts had watched NC State upset then-No. 2-ranked Duke 87-75 on Jan. 11 in front of a sold-out PNC Arena, which featured a court storming at the end of the game. Batts had previously attended the Florida State at NC State football game Sept. 27 at Carter-Finley Stadium, so he has learned a great deal in a short time about the passion of Wolfpack fans.

“It was good at the Duke game and I loved the atmosphere,” Batts said. “I loved the fans, loved the crowd and the way they played and the coaching.

“The crowd was excellent, and everybody was into it. Everybody played hard, and the crowd was boosting them up. That is why they came out with the win — everyone played together.”

Batts was able to see the players and coaches celebrate in the locker room area, which was an added bonus. He also has been watching the Wolfpack play on television when he has the chance.

“That was crazy — the team was all up on each other and jumping around, smiling,” Batts said. “Everything was good.”

“I love Cat Barber, and I played with Cat over the summer at Chris Paul’s camp,” Batts said. “He’s a good guard, and I watch how he runs things, and slows it down or picks up the pace. I watch it because that is the position I play.”

Batts has attended games at NC State, plus Syracuse at Clemson and Georgia Tech at Wake Forest, this winter. He’d like to attend games at Kansas and Kentucky in the future, and has gotten a letters from the Jayhawks and North Carolina. He said he’s heard from almost all of the ACC schools except Florida State and Georgia Tech.

“It’s a blessing because some people don’t see that until their junior or senior years,” Batts said of the interest. “I’m getting to see it early, and it is motivating me to work harder.”

Batts, who is still looking for his first offer, has the speed, athleticism and feel for the game to become a high-major prospect. He is averaging 18.2 points per game this season.

“I’m going to keep working and be patient,” said Batts, 16, who played with Chris Paul All-Stars 15s last offseason. “The season has been going good for me.”

— Jacey Zembal

For regular reports on Batts and NC State basketball recruiting plus videos of Wolfpack commitments and targets visit TheWolfpacker.com.